Letters To The Editor – November 2021

Make Trapping Mandatory

Dear GON,

This is for everyone who is still in such an uproar about the proposed changes for the Georgia turkey hunting regulations starting next season. If all hunters would do their share of predator control by trapping or killing coyotes, hogs, coons, bobcats, opossums, etc., I do not think we would be discussing turkey hunting regulations.

Unfortunately, I lost my hunting land in south Georgia last year that had an abundance of wildlife; therefore, I never thought about the lack of it. Around the property was all kind of agricultural fields, such as peanuts and corn. However, I was fortunate enough to have some family land I could hunt on at no cost. Because there are no agricultural fields within miles of this property, with the exceptions of man-made food plots, my son and I saw little activity.

In the middle of late last deer season, we decided to start trapping predators. With a slow start, we managed to catch our first coyote and then the second and so on and so forth. We have managed to catch 10 to date and seem to be seeing more deer tracks, but the turkey tracks are not as prevalent. I hope we are making a profound impact on the predator control in this area. We caught 11 hogs in a trap recently.

I would hope that every landowner who leases their land would make the individuals leasing their land be held accountable by requiring them to do mandatory predator control before allowing them to hunt. I have seen the changes that it has made to our deer population, and I hope it does the same for the turkeys, as well. So do your job and set traps, whether it be leg hold traps, live traps, hog traps, etc. It will not get done without the actions of the dedicated hunter. 

Mark Henson  Ellaville

Great Time At Shoot-Out 

Dear GON,

Griffin had a great time at the Shoot-Out, and I appreciate GON for allowing him to participate. The accommodation given to him for the adult Shoot-Out made him feel inclusive, even though he couldn’t compete due to the weight of the pellet gun.

With regards to winning his Week 6 rifle, we made a trip to Adventure Outdoors while we were up that way and took ownership of the gun. Thanks for a great contest that brings the outdoor community together!

Andy Ganas, Pine Mountain

Griffin Ganas won Week 6 in last year’s Truck-Buck, but he couldn’t quite hold the heavy RWS Diana pellet rifle for the Shoot-Out. However, just for fun GON allowed him to show off his shooting skills with a Daisy BB gun, the same one used in the Youth Shoot-Out.

GON Social

GON Facebook: Fired up on the banks of Lake Sinclair. Brody Battle, 12, caught this bass with a shallow-running crankbait.

GON Instagram: Fired up on the banks of Lake Sinclair. Brody Battle, 12, caught this bass with a shallow-running crankbait.

GON Twitter: Cole Temples, of Macon, with a very successful evening with his crew. Thanks @coletemples24 for sending us a pile of pork.